Smaller Papers Available at Historically Low Multiples, Broker Says

By: E&P Staff Small- and medium-sized newspapers have never been cheaper, according to John Cribb, managing director of the Bozeman, Montana-based brokerage firm Cribb, Greene & Associates.

?The EBITDA multiples used to value newspapers are at historic lows of 4x (times) to 8x, and these multiples are applied to trailing twelve-month profits, which are low due to the stalled economy. The result is the lowest newspaper valuation range tracked in Cribb, Greene?s 86-year history,? John Cribb writes in a just-released report.

Those multiples compare to 10 times to 14 times EBITDA that was the normal going price for newspapers not so long ago.

A summary of the report, plus the entire report itself, is posted on E&P?s business-oriented Fitz & Jen blog.